Richard Hittleman's Ypga 28 Day Exercise Plan Hardcover – January 1, 1969

Richard Hittleman was the yoga guru of the 70s. His books and methods gave people access to this amazing fitness practice. Hittleman, in this book, avoids the spirituality of yoga and focuses on fitness and health. It’s a great book, the exercises are graded, so you work up in difficulty and effort.I used this book in the late 70s, lost a ton of weight and got (2023) this for a friend.If you use the exercises in this book, you will see benefits.

One of the best things I've ever done for myself was to buy this book (in the early '70s) and, through it, teach my body to tune into itself. I quickly became more flexible, more aware, slept more easily, and moved more gracefully. The next best thing I did was to have it spiral bound when it started falling apart (lol), which made it really easy to use. I still have the same book after nearly 40 years.Off and on throughout the years I have stopped doing yoga for a few years, then started again. In my forties I took a power yoga workshop - the only time I've done yoga outside of the book - and the instructor told me I was really flexible. This was after having not done it for awhile. Your body remembers and even if you become tense, a gentle stretch or two will get you relaxed again.Now I'm 61 and still flexible, still tuned in. From this book I developed an ability to recognize immediately when something is off in my body. It led to an interest in nutrition, and in the effects of my emotions and thoughts on my body, both of which have also been impactful. Although I could be stronger, my health is great - better than any of my younger six siblings - and I attribute that in large part to the simplicity and comprehensiveness of the asanas I learned from this book. Thank you, Richard Hittleman.

This yoga book is very easy to read and follow. Easy at first for beginners and slowly and gently works your way up to advance. I love the energy and body tone I’ve received from this yoga plan.

I chose this book in the 1970s when I wanted to begin Hatha Yoga. I found it's step-by-step and day-by-day method very effective. I liked three days of progress followed by one day oc rest and consolidation. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I had learned and absorbed after 28 days.I always intended this to be a baby book, an introduction, and I fully expected to have to find better books later as I advanced. It turned out that this book was good enough on its own. I lost track of it over the years, and was please to be able to find the book again.This book is in a larger format than the original pocket-sized book I once had. You can still get the smaller book. I like the larger format.I regret discontinuing my yoga practice. I had started late, in my thirties, and after a few years I had had made good progress. I don't remember why I stopped, except that I did when I got remarried. I must have been distracted by a full life.I remember coming home from work and being tired. The last thing I wanted to do was thirty minutes of yoga. I almost always practiced anyway, and when I was finished I felt refreshed and glad that I had made the effort.Now, as a senior, I believe it is best to return to at least some parts of Hatha Yoga in order to gain flexibility and suppleness. I dislike the idea of slowly becoming rigid and contracted, both physically and mentally.

I'm on day 15. I have been dutifully doing the exercises daily without missing a day as proscribed. When I first leafed through the book I saw a photo of the lady in a headstand. I thought, really? Will that happen in 28 days? I don't know yet. So far In the first 15 days we just do headstand prep. That's the beauty of the system. Each day builds, and every four days is review. This is a really great book to either teach your self yoga or use in conjunction with yoga lessons. You don't even need a mat or a block or any props (so far) to do this yoga.Each day ends with a page long thought or idea to consider about yoga. The beginning of the book said plan for about 20 minutes a day for your yoga. I must breathe slower than most because it takes me about 30 -40 minutes a day (not counting meditation) to do each session. A minute of meditation is suggested before beginning. I've gradually been lengthening my meditation 'cause it's fun.Some of the alignments may seem mysterious to modern yoga enthusiasts. I decided to do the poses as depicted in the book even if what we do in the studio now is slightly different. For example, cobra pose in this book has the elbows way out to the sides. Follow the directions because they are linked to subsequent poses.The breath exercises are the best. I feel they are covered in greater detail than the newer yoga books i have read.

I started doing yoga a little over 35 years ago. This was one of my first books, and over the years I have probably given out over 20 copies of it to friends who were interested in learning more about what yoga is. It's not the best book (is there one?), and much of my later teaching contradicts some of the asanas as described in this book. Still, though, it taught me the basics - not only of the poses, but also of the philosophy behind yoga.If you've already taken classes and are well on your way to becoming a yogi(ni), this isn't the book for you. However, if you can't afford lessons or are in a rural area without access to good teachers, get this book. It will be a welcome traveler with you throughout your life.

Easy instructions and easy to follow. Well written and good photos showing the poses

Fantastico facile e veloce

This is the standard guide to learning and performing hatha yoga. I've used it for 30 years and bought a new copy because the old one was too full of food and coffee stains to be clearly viewed. Most of the book is the learning section which carries us through the main yoga poses, starting with easy steps and slowly introducing us to the full poses over 28 days. The final pages of the book show a three-day routine that we can use as shown or we can intermix the poses in our own desired format into the future. Easy to follow. The poses are correct. Clear illustrations of each pose in detail. For those of us who can learn from a book and don't need group classes to learn yoga, this is the Real Deal. Don't listen to yoga teachers who laugh at the idea of learning hatha yoga from a book--they're nutz.

Using this book for last 3 years, wonderful book, beautifully illustrations and descriptionsMust Have for beginners

It looks like for beginner, but is not. Each pose is done by baby steps, so next day( exercise are divided by day) is the same exercise with more range of motion; I think this idea is great because you progress. Usually you repeat each exercise 3 times, and after all sequence ( 3 to 5 exercises) twice. You see another hand position in many exercises ( cobra, triangle) than usual, so book not copy instructions like nowadays in yoga magazines. It's include breathing techniques, again with diffrent approach than I know. Highly recommend.